When You Come Back
by Down By The River
Summary: One shot. A follow up to When You Leave. Sam wants Mercedes back, but Mercedes isn't so sure where she stands. Maybe, with a little help from her friends, she'll be able to figure it out.


**When You Come Back - A Samcedes Oneshot**

Ok, so this is the sort of sequel to _When You Leave_, it's got kind of a different style but I'm a new writer so I'm still experimenting with it. Please forgive any errors you might find.

Let me know what you think!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee or any of its characters, nor do I own the songs the characters sing.

* * *

><p>'Alright!' Mr. Schuester called, clapping his hands together and rubbing them briskly.<p>

'Now, I've noticed that the group has been a little… fragmented lately.'

He took in the group, his eyes seeming to dwell in particular on Mercedes, Brittany and Santana.

'…but since the Troubletones return and the impending Regionals competition, I thought of a project to get us all working better together as a _team_.'

The teacher turned and, quickly uncapping a marker, wrote on the board in large capital letters.

'**DUETS!**' He exclaimed, punctuating the word with the loud smack of the pen hitting the whiteboard as he underlined the word not once, but twice.

'Uh, Mr. Schue?' Finn asked, 'I don't really understand how working in partners is going to help us work better as a team…'

Mr. Schue recapped the pen and pointed it at Finn.

'I'm glad you mentioned that, Finn, because I'm going to assign partners who have _not _worked together often.'

The rest of the Glee club groaned while the teacher warmed to his theme.

'Come on guys! This'll be great! You'll get to know the people you don't know as well better and then you'll all have a deeper understanding of each other as a group!' he grinned, but none of the teenagers seemed to be buying it.

'I don't want to get to know, _Stumpy-the-Wonder-Pain_ better.' Santana offered.

'HEY!' Rachel turned to face the brunette, her face twisting in outrage.

'Relax, Hobbit, I wasn't talking about you.' Santana's brow wrinkled as she crossed her arms and took in Rachel with disdain.

'I was talking about Young Carl Fredricksen over there.' The Cheerio finished, nodding at Blaine.

'What? Britt likes _Up_, ok?'

Blaine narrowed his eyes and looked like he was going to respond, but was prevented from saying anything when Mr. Schue continued.

'Alright, why don't we get on with the pairings!'

He walked over to the piano and picked up a list.

_'Brittany and Finn.'_

The blonde cheerleader pumped a fist. 'Awesome!'

_'Santana and Puck.'_

Santana shrugged, 'Whatever.'

_'  
>Quinn and Tina'<em>

The two girls turned to smile at each other.

_'Artie and Mike'_

Mike leaned over the back of Artie's chair to fist bump his duet partner.

_'Rory and Sugar,'_

Sugar squealed and crushed Rory to her in a tight hug.

'This is going to be so much fun!' she told him, 'You should know that I'm an awesome singer.'

Mr. Schue ignored Rory's wide-eyed surprise, _or was that panic?_, and continued down the list.

_'Sam and-'_

Time seemed to slow down for Sam as he waited to hear who he'd been partnered with. It was down to Kurt, Blaine, Rachel and Mercedes, and he really, _really _wanted to be with Mercedes. She, on the other hand, was studiously trying to avoid his eyes.

_'…Kurt.'_

Mr. Schuester finished, and Sam felt his heart sink even as he turned to smile at his duet partner.

'Guess we'll get that duet after all' Sam said, but couldn't stop his eyes from darting over to look at Mercedes, wondering if she was disappointed that they wouldn't be singing together too. Kurt followed the direction of Sam's gaze and quickly looked back up at him.

'I guess we will.' He smiled, 'Even though I'm _clearly_ not your first choice.'

Kurt hadn't said the words with any spite whatsoever, but Sam still felt guilty. Kurt had been a good friend to him, and the least he could do was act interested in singing with him.

'Sorry.' Sam bit his lip and blushed. 'I guess I just find her a little distracting.'

Kurt shook his head.

'_Distracting?_ Honey, you're smitten, and the whole world knows it.'

Sam sighed and slouched down in his chair.

'I just want her back.'

Kurt smiled kindly and patted Sam's knee.

'I know, believe me, the _whole school _knows after you yelled it in the hallways like that. Don't get me wrong it was romantic, but possibly not the wisest move. You have to remember that Mercedes is with someone else now, Sam, and she believes in doing the right thing. Give her a little time and I'm sure she'll figure out that the feelings she has for you run a lot deeper than the obligation she feels to Shane.'

Sam sighed, 'Yeah, let's hope so.'

'Hey Blaine,' Sam leaned forward in his chair and tapped the shorter boy on the shoulder.

'Who'd you get as your partner?'

Blaine turned around in his seat to face the blond,

'Mercedes.' Blaine answered gleefully, 'I'm actually super excited, she's so amazing!'

'Yeah,' Sam sighed, 'I know.'

'Who did Rachel-' Sam started, before he was interrupted by the sound of the girl herself loudly trying to bully Artie and Mike into performing a show tune instead of the R&B number they were thinking of.

'Guess that answers that question.' Kurt cut in, sharing a little smile with Blaine.

'Yeah, Mr. Schue said Rachel should go in a three.' Blaine elaborated, 'He said they had to focus on making sure all parts were _equal._'

All three boys snickered as they watched Rachel argue with an increasingly frustrated Artie. Mike looked like he was desperately wishing he were somewhere else.

'Hey, where's Mercedes?' Sam asked. He'd noticed she'd gone a while ago of course, he always noticed her, but he was trying to play it cool so he'd waited a couple of minutes before asking. Blaine had still given him an odd look when he'd voiced the question though.

'You have got it _so_ bad, man.' Blaine chuckled, as he smoothed down the buttons on his navy cardigan. 'I bet you thought you were being subtle then, didn't you?'

Sam blushed and ran his hands through his hair before he smiled and shrugged.

'Kinda. So where'd she go?'

'Bathroom.' Blaine explained, shaking his head.

'God, you have absolutely no shame where Mercedes is concerned, do you?' Kurt asked.

'Nope.' Sam grinned.

The two boys shook their heads at Sam but let him be when Mercedes came back into the room.

Sam smiled at her, and felt his insides warm when she smiled back.

'Having fun?' she asked them, but her eyes kept returning to Sam.

Blaine beamed, 'Yeah! We were just talking about –'

'Song choices!' Kurt cut in. 'We were talking about song choices, but we didn't come up with anything good and you're back now so… cheerio! Not you Britt.' Kurt qualified as Brittany turned to look expectantly at him. Kurt grabbed Sam's arm and forcibly towed him to some seats further away from Blaine and Mercedes.

'What was _that _for?' Sam asked as he rubbed his bicep. Kurt was _definitely_ stronger than he looked.

'I saw the way she was looking at you just now, Evans,' Kurt explained, 'and unlike _you_ I've seen the way she looks at Shane, so I can tell you that it's _nothing_ like that. Besides, we all know Shane's a rebound. Mercedes was a mess when you left and, if we're being honest, she was still kind of a mess when she got together with Shane in the first place.'

Kurt crossed his legs and brushed some imaginary dirt of his pant leg.

'I'm pretty sure she only got with _him_ to try and get over _you_.' He added in a low voice before fixing Sam with an icy blue stare. 'But let's be clear, if you tell her I said that I will deny all knowledge and tell everyone you put lemon in your hair. Ok?'

Sam nodded, not bothering to inform Kurt that he didn't really care if people knew about the lemon now he wasn't chasing popularity anymore.

'Deal. Now Kurt, do you wanna tell me what you're driving at?' Sam asked bluntly. Kurt sighed and shook his head at his friend.

'Isn't it obvious? I'm going to help you get Mercedes back!'

***MSMSMSMSMS***

Mercedes was excited, she didn't really get to do duets a lot in glee club, and hardly ever with any of the boys in the group. Plus she and Blaine had picked out an AMAZING song. She still couldn't quite believe that Blaine had suggested it, seeing as she hadn't really put him down as a Ferras fan. Still, they'd both practiced a ton and the song sounded_ great_.

'Hey, handsome!'

Mercedes bounded over and sat down next to her duet partner. Blaine waved a hand in greeting but looked upset.

'What's wrong?' Mercedes asked, concern filling her voice.

Blaine bit his lip and scribbled something on a piece of paper before handing it to her.

'**I've lost my voice :('**

Mercedes heart sank.

'What! Oh Blaine, I'm sorry! And we worked so hard on our song.' She patted him on the back and sat back in her chair. 'I guess we could do it another time. Just make sure you get some rest, ok? We need you healthy for Regionals.'

Blaine nodded and darted a look at Kurt, who was, unusually, sitting on the other side of the choir room.

_Weird, _Mercedes thought, _usually you couldn't prize the two of them apart with a crowbar._

She frowned but her attention was quickly diverted when Mr. Schue walked through the door.

'Alright, you guys! Who's ready for some DUETS?' he enthused, stopping when he noticed Sam's hand in the air.

'Yes, Sam?'

'Hi.' Sam put his hand down and continued, 'Mr. Schue, Kurt and I were wondering if we could go first?'

Mr. Schue looked bemused but nodded.

'Sure thing. Did you want to go second, Mercedes?'

Mercedes put her hand down and shook her head.

'No. I just wanted to say that Blaine's lost his voice so we won't be able to do our duet today.'

Mr. Schue raised his eyebrows in concern.

'I'm sorry to hear that, you two. Make sure you get lots of rest, Blaine, ok?'

Blaine nodded and Mercedes rubbed his back soothingly.

'Sam, Kurt.' Mr. Schuester called, 'whenever you guys are ready.'

Sam and Kurt stood and made their way down the steps but Mercedes was surprised when Blaine also got up and make his way to the piano.

Mercedes felt a shiver run down her spine when Blaine began to play the opening bars of Sam and Kurt's duet. He was playing _their_ duet. The duet _she _was meant to be singing with _him_.

_He must have known that they'd chosen the same song, _Mercedes thought in confusion, _why hadn't he_ said _anything?_

Mercedes sensed what was going to happen even before Kurt coughed and rasped out the first line of the song.

'Oh gosh!' Kurt wheezed, surprisingly loudly for someone who'd lost their voice,

'It looks like I must have whatever Blaine has, all that close contact you know, I guess I won't be able to sing either.'

He gave an exaggerated shrug and went to sit down again, leaving Sam standing awkwardly in the middle of the room watching him while Mercedes tried desperately to get Blaine's attention by mouthing,

_'What is going on? What are you two up to? Why were they singing our-'_

'Mercedes!' Mr. Schue called, interrupting her attempted interrogation of Blaine (who was looking guiltier and guiltier by the second.)

'Are you alright?'

Mercedes stopped mouthing and felt the heat rise to her face as the rest of the club turned to look at her, grateful that her dark skin hid her embarrassed blush.

'Yep, I'm all good.' She replied quickly, watching out of the corner of her eye as Blaine scribbled something on a sheet of paper and handed it to Mr. Schue.

'Blaine says there's been a mix up and you've both learned the same song.' Mr. Schue read. 'He's also suggested that you and Sam perform the duet together instead.'

'God, _Team Gay_, could you _be_ any more subtle?' Santana muttered under her breath, but Kurt and Blaine both ignored her.

Mercedes narrowed her eyes at her best friend and his boyfriend as she realized what they'd done. They'd set her up! It was a trap!

…And then all at once Mercedes was thinking about Sam again, of the stolen moments spent with him when they were still keeping their relationship secret. He'd do impressions for her to make her laugh, springing Admiral Ackbar's '_It's a trap!'_ on her in the weirdest situations, like in line for the movies or when she was just about to take her first sip of coffee. He always did it so unexpectedly that she was guaranteed to fall about laughing. Yeah, it was dorky, but that was Sam, sweet and dorky and willing to do almost anything to make her smile… and now he was standing in the middle of the choir room looking awkward as hell asking her to do a duet with him, and was she seriously thinking about saying no?

Set up or not, Mercedes knew that she couldn't leave him hanging with a good conscience, so she sighed and nodded as Sam took her hand and helped her out of her seat.

'Thanks, Cedes.' He whispered, squeezing her hand as they made their way over to the piano.

Blaine flexed his fingers before positioning his hands over the keys, after a brief nod from Sam he began to play.

_I kissed your sweet lips, _Sam sang,

_I floated so high,_

_Your eyes looked at mine,_

_The world froze in time._

Sam's eyes caught hers and Mercedes felt her breath catch. He still had hold of her hand, she realized, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to pull away.

_What is this feeling?_

_I am on cloud 9_

Sam quirked a grin at her, and raised his eyebrows

_Guess I'm still reeling…_

_From your body next to mine… _

Sam wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as Mercedes shook her head at him, unable and unwilling to fight the smile he elicited.

Sam grinned harder as he carried on. _That was _his_ smile! _**His**_ smile!_ He tried to keep a lid on his excitement as he continued, the words of the song seeming to mirror his own emotions.

_It's a rush I can't explain,_

Mercedes echoed his words as they continued to sing to each other, the rest of the choir room fading out as the song put into words all the emotions they associated with each other. The spark they felt when they were near each other, their joy at being together… and the fear they felt at the prospect of losing each other again.

_Like you shot something crazy into my veins,_

_And I'm 10 feet off the ground_

_And I don't want come down._

When Mercedes sang the next verse, he knew, somehow, that she was telling him how she'd felt without him in the months they'd been apart.

_I know you're sleeping,_

_But I wish you were right here._

'_Cause my bed is so empty,_

_I'd hold you so close to me._

He squeezed her hand then, trying to communicate that he'd felt the same way about her, too. He'd lain awake at nights in Kentucky thinking about her, wondering how her day had gone, and if she was thinking about him too. Sometimes, and he hadn't admitted this to anyone, he'd wake himself up from missing her. He'd be dreaming that he was with her, and he'd feel so happy and content that when he'd wake to find her missing he'd felt like he was losing her all over again.

Only now she was _here_, warm and solid and _real_, singing with him and holding his hand. His smile grew bigger as he reveled in the feel of her palm against his. He _loved _holding hands with Cedes.

Mercedes furrowed her brow in confusion at his sudden burst of happiness but continued to sing, he didn't blame her, he probably _did _look a lot like the Claymation abominable snowman Santana had been talking about right now.

_I sing my song to you,_

_Your smile was priceless,_

Mercedes shrugged and gave him a little smile of defeat.

_What else can I do?_

_I'm a junkie over you._

As Mercedes went into the chorus, he echoed her, all the while wondering if she was coming to the realization that what she had with The Bulldozer wasn't as good as what _they _had yet.

Sam hadn't realized how close they were standing to each other until they entered the bridge and he realized that if he wanted to, he could just lean down and kiss her. The thought made him a little dizzy and he had to turn away from her to resist the temptation,

'_Cause is it me or is everything spinning?_

_I'm wide-awake, but I must be dreaming._

_It's like you're some kind of drug._

Mercedes voice had dropped off after _wide-awake _and Sam turned to her to check she was ok. She seemed to be having some kind of revelation as she sang.

_Whoa, I try to catch my breath to see if I'm still breathing_

Realisation dawned on Mercedes face as she fixed her eyes level with chest. Mercedes raised their joined hands and placed them over her heart as she finally met his eyes.

_Touch my heart and make sure it's beating it's-_

Sam could feel Mercedes heart racing under his fingers, but he was pretty sure that hers wasn't the only one, his had been going like a jackhammer every since he'd taken her hand. He searched Mercedes' face for some clue as to what she was thinking, she looked _scared, _not scared of _him_, necessarily, but more like she was scared of what she was feeling, or whatever it was she was realizing. He'd seen that look on her face before, before he'd moved, and his voice softened as he sang

_Like you're falling in love?_

It wasn't really a question, not in the original song at least, but Sam took a few liberties with it as he watched Mercedes finally, _finally _realize that she was _still in love with him. _He didn't know at this point if he was helping matters, but he followed his gut and proceeded cautiously.

_It's a rush I can't explain_

Mercedes' eyes filled with tears and she seemed to be singing thoughts rather than phrases.

_No,_ _I can't explain…_

_Like you shot something crazy… _Sam prompted, and felt the relief wash over him as Mercedes completed the line,

_Into my veins._

Sam smiled, trying to offer Mercedes assurance, but he could see the tension in her face as he continued. She looked stricken, and he tried not to get disheartened, _was loving him really that scary a prospect?_

Mercedes was lost in the thoughts and emotions the song dredged up. She was slowly coming to the realization that she was still in love with Sam Evans, _but she really wasn't sure she _wanted_ to be. _She couldn't help the way she felt, but she also knew that she'd been clinging to Shane so hard because she was scared that if she ever let herself love as deeply as she'd loved Sam again she'd _never _recover. While she knew that she cared for Shane, she was also pretty sure that she didn't love him, _couldn't _love him, because somehow Sam Evans had managed to get into her heart, into her blood stream, and there simply wasn't room for anyone else.

But Mercedes had gone cold turkey on Sam Evans before, and while she'd just about survived it that time, she wasn't sure she'd get through it twice, and the nagging reality was that_ there was just no guarantee that he was staying._

All of these thoughts rushed through her head as she sang, but even with all that there was still a part of her that was just reveling in being this close to Sam again. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and cursed them silently. She hardly ever cried, she'd cried with Quinn after the Cheerios incident, but that had pretty much been it since she'd hit her teens, then Sam had come along, and now she felt like was crying _all-the-damn-time_.

The concern on Sam's face was evident now as his emerald green eyes scanned her face,

_And I'm 10 feet off the ground._

Mercedes bit her lip as they alternated the last few lines. They were barely a hairs breadth from each other as they sang the final lines, and Mercedes knew that if she just moved her head slightly she'd be kissing him, and he'd know that she'd chosen him over Shane.

_Oh and I don't_

_No I don't…_

_No I don't … want to come… down._

When the song finished Mercedes didn't move. Truth be told, she _couldn't _move. She felt drained and emotionally exhausted, and while she was certain now that she was definitely still in love with Sam, she _wasn't _sure she could risk the hurt that came from losing him again. As Blaine played the last chord on the piano, Mercedes became aware of several things at once; of the tears in her eyes, that she and Sam were standing _very _close together, and that everyone in the room was staring at them.

Mercedes swallowed and took a step back, pulling her hand free from Sam's as she did so. He looked bereft, and she tried hard not to miss the warmth of his hand in hers as she took a few stumbling steps backwards towards the door. Sam reached for her, but Mercedes shook her head and mumbled in a voice no louder than a whisper,

'I'm so sorry, Sam, but I just… I can't do this right now.'

She turned to face the rest of the Glee club, who had all been watching her interaction with Sam with naked interest.

'I'm sorry, but I have to go.'

Sam assumed that Mr. Schue must have nodded because Mercedes had grabbed her things and was out the door before he even had time to register what had happened. He watched her go before he turned to see the eyes of everyone else in the Glee club firmly fixed on him.

'What,' Kurt asked in a perfectly healthy sounding voice, 'was _that?'_

Sam shook his head, his mind still on Mercedes as he tried to focus on Kurt's words.

'I don't know. I think she just… realized some stuff… that she has to figure out in her head.'

'That was _intense._' Puck breathed. 'I mean, _damn, _bro. I ain't never seen Mercedes worked up like that, and we know each other pretty well now.' The mohawked teen narrowed his eyes at Sam,

'What the hell did you do to her? 'Cause you're my boy, Sam, but I _swear _if you_-_ '

'He didn't do anything.'

Sam looked up at the sound of Quinn's voice as he flopped back into his chair, still trying to piece the whole thing together in his head. He had not expected Quinn, of all people, to be coming to his aid.

'Well, actually, he _did_.' Quinn qualified, and Sam felt his good will towards her diminish slightly.

'He left.'

Quinn stood and collected her things as she spoke.

'We all act like Mercedes is tough as nails, but the truth is that she gets hurt just as easily as the rest of us, she just covers it better.'

Quinn shrugged before she addressing Sam directly.

'I know you didn't mean to, Sam, but you really hurt Mercedes when you moved, and my guess is that right now she's trying to figure out if she's strong enough to go through that again.'

Sam winced, Quinn's words stung, but he knew she was right. He'd already left Mercedes once, and it wasn't like he had family here. Who knew how long he was planning on staying? Mercedes certainly didn't, and he'd come back and tried to restart things with her without giving her any indication that he planned to stick around. Sam shook his head and got to his feet, only to be gently, but firmly, pressed back into his chair by Quinn, who by this time had gathered all her belongings and made her way down to the choir room floor.

'Stay here, Romeo.' She chastised him gently. 'She knows where you stand. Let her figure things out on her own for a while before you see her again, ok?'

Quinn was halfway to the door when Sam called out to her, jogging to meet her before she left.

'You're going to see her aren't you?' he asked without preamble.

Quinn rolled her eyes,

'Of course I am, idiot, why else would I be ducking out of glee early?'

Sam chose to ignore the snark as he shot Quinn a pleading look.

'Can you give her a message for me? Please?'

Quinn let out and groan of exasperation and opened her mouth to complain but Sam cut her off.

'Can you tell her I'm staying?' he asked,

'Just that. Just… tell her I'm staying.'

Quinn eyed him suspiciously but nodded before turning and leaving the choir room. Sam returned to his seat with a heavy heart, knowing that at this point he'd done all that he could do, and that all that was left for him to do was wait. It was going to be torture.

***MSMSMSMSMSM***

Quinn stared at the familiar pattern on Mercedes ceiling and wondered why it had taken her so long to reach out to Mercedes again. The woman had seen her _give birth _for goodness' sake. Quinn wasn't sure there even _were _boundaries bigger than that to cross.

'You know he loves you.' Quinn offered as she lay across Mercedes bed, watching the other girl out of the corner of her eye.

Mercedes sighed and tucked her foot up under her, resting her chin on her knee.

'I know.'

'And you love him.' Quinn continued, rolling onto her side and propping herself up on her elbow.

Mercedes refused to meet Quinn's eyes and focused her attention on her coverlet. It was purple and had leopard spots on it.

'No I don't.'

Quinn laughed and flopped back onto her back again.

'I don't!'

'Liar!' Quinn called in a singsong voice, not even bothering to turn her head.

Mercedes grimaced, 'you don't have to believe me, but I _don't._'

'Jeez, Mercy, you really are the _worst_ liar.'

Mercedes thought about protesting again before she groaned and covered her face with her hands.

'I _know_. Sam used to say that all the time too.'

Mercedes stopped as soon as she realized what she'd said and Quinn raised an elegantly arched brow at her.

'You really can't help it can you?'

Mercedes shook her head and stood up abruptly.

'I really, _really_ can't. I think about him _all the time_, Q! It's infuriating!'

Quinn watched as Mercedes began to pace at the foot of the bed.

'And the worst part is that I have a boyfriend! I have no business thinking about Sam when I'm with Shane.'

Mercedes stopped and gripped the wrought iron at the foot of her bed, leaning into it as she spoke.

'And Shane's been good to me, Quinn, he doesn't deserve that.'

Mercedes let out a gusty sigh as she came around the bed to flop on her back next to her friend.

'I owe it to Shane to say no to Sam.' Mercedes decided.

'But you owe it to yourself to make the decision that will make you happiest.' Quinn offered.

'You love Sam, and you and I both know that you don't feel that way about Shane. No matter how good he's been to you.'

Mercedes made a noise that _might _have been affirmation, so Quinn continued.

'So, do you want to tell me the _real_ reason you're not accepting Sam?'

Mercedes grabbed a pillow and held it over her face. Quinn watched the cushion shake from side to side and from underneath it heard a muffled, 'no.'

'Sure, ok, don't tell me.' Quinn countered, staring at the stick on stars forming constellations on Mercedes' ceiling.

'Is that Cassiopeia?' Quinn asked pointing at a particular constellation above her head. Mercedes removed the pillow from her face and peered up at where Quinn was pointing.

'No, that's Orion.' She corrected, 'You know, _I_ may be an awful liar, but _you_ suck at astronomy.'

Quinn waved a hand dismissively, 'We all have our weaknesses.'

Mercedes laughed, 'Yeah, like _bacon_.'

'Like _Sam Evans_.' Quinn countered pointedly, which made Mercedes groan and cover her face with the pillow again.

Looking back, Quinn realized that Sam and Mercedes actually had a lot more in common than she'd initially realized. Subconsciously, it was probably what had drawn her to Sam in the first place, Quinn decided. She'd wanted to feel safe and secure, and she _had_ in the months she'd stayed with the Jones'. She'd felt like she had a home there, spending evenings staring up at the constellations on Mercedes' ceiling as they'd chatted about anything and everything. Baking with Mrs. Jones and watching sports with Mr. Jones. She'd felt part of a family when she'd stayed with the Jones' and it was a feeling Quinn had lost when she'd moved back in with her mother. They'd tried, but Quinn always felt precarious around a woman who had disowned her so easily once before. Quinn had been going to a therapist long enough now to realize that she'd been attempting to use her relationships with boys as a substitute for the security and comfort she'd lost when her parents had thrown her out.

When Sam had talked astronomy to her, Quinn realized, she'd probably drawn parallels with the ceiling constellations in Mercedes room and associated him with the feeling she'd had with the Jones'. Quinn raised her eyebrows in surprise at the revelation.

_Sam and Mercedes were both good people,_ _but she hadn't exactly done right by either of them_. Quinn frowned, _she couldn't turn the clock back, there were a lot of things she'd do differently if she could, but she _could_ try to make it up to them, starting with helping get them back together._

In her periphery, Quinn could see Mercedes peeking around the cushion at her, and figured it would only be a matter of time before the other girl spilled the beans. Quinn had played this game before, and she knew Mercedes would confess to her eventually.

'I'm scared.'

Quinn smiled and reached over to pat her friend's arm.

'I know you are, sweetie, but you know, someone wise once told me that without fear there is no courage.'

Mercedes made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sigh,

'I told you that when you were freaking out about giving birth, Quinn.'

The blonde shrugged.

'So? It still applies. _Be courageous_, _Merce_.'

Mercedes clutched the pillow to her chest and rolled onto her side to look at the young woman next to her.

'What if he leaves again, Q?'

Quinn sighed and began to play with Mercedes' hair.

'Well, if he does you'll get through it. You know you are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for, Mercy.' Quinn paused to let that sink in for a moment before she brought out her trump card.

'But for the record, he asked me to tell you that he's staying.'

'Sam did?' Mercedes sat up so fast that Quinn was in serious danger of ripping out the handful of hair she'd been playing with.

'Yes, Sam did.' Quinn reiterated, pushing herself up so that she was also sitting upright.

'Oh.' Mercedes said quietly, '_oh_.'

'Yup.' Quinn nodded as she scooted off the bed, 'so now all _you_ have to do is choose between Sam and Shane.'

Quinn leaned forward and kissed her friend on the forehead.

'Look, I know I'm not exactly the best one for relationship advice, but… trust your heart, Merce, It knows what it wants.'

Mercedes bit her lip, lost in her own thoughts as she clutched the pillow to her chest, belatedly realizing that Quinn was leaving.

'Aren't you staying?'

The blonde girl shook her head,

'Nah, I've said my piece, besides I'm pretty sure that _you_ have some thinking to do. _Without me_.'

Quinn smiled and waved before she disappeared around the doorframe, leaving Mercedes alone with her thoughts.

***MSMSMSMSMSMSM***

Shane was pretty sure he knew what was coming when Mercedes had asked to meet him after football practice. She'd always been a little guarded with him, but he'd hoped that given time she'd come around and let him in. He'd let her go at her own pace, hadn't pushed her, encouraged her… but instead of drawing closer to him like he'd hoped, Mercedes had been pulling further away.

He smiled at Mercedes as he approached where she was sitting on the bleachers, but when she struggled to smile back he knew he was right. She was breaking up with him. He wasn't mad, not at her at least, he'd taken a shot and they'd both tried to make it work, but there were just some things in life that you couldn't force and love was one of them.

'How you doing, baby?' Shane asked as he sat down next to Mercedes.

'Well, I-"

Shane watched her take a deep breath to continue and stopped her.

'Wait, you don't have to answer that.'

Shane dangled his helmet between his knees as he looked out over the field. He hadn't gone straight to the locker room because, although he was cool with Mercedes, he still had a lot of resentment towards Sam Evans, and he didn't want to run the risk of running into him.

'Mercedes, we're not working out, and I think we should break up.'

Shane felt pretty proud of himself for doing that. He was being a man and taking charge, not letting a woman do what he knew he ought to be doing himself.

'_Excuse me_?'

Mercedes sounded incredulous, and a little pissed off if the truth be told. Shane swallowed.

'Well, you and I, we've been growing apart and…uh…'

Shane cleared his throat as he tried to avoid the furious look Mercedes was fixing on him. Had he read the situation wrong? He was doing the right thing, wasn't he?

'_Shane Eugene Theodore Tinsley_. I _know _you did not just interrupt me to break up with me!

'Uh…'

Shane could admit that he was a little scared, Mercedes had a good heart, but she was _very_ vocal about the things that upset her, and apparently he'd done just that.

'You know what?' Mercedes carried on, 'I wanted to come here and talk to you about everything that has been going on with me the past few months, everything that's been going on since even _before_ I met you. And, yeah, I was going to suggest we break up, but I was _also _going to tell you that it was all on me. But you know what, Shane? You _knew _that I wasn't ready for a relationship when you went after me.'

Shane tried to interject but Mercedes put up a hand to silence him.

'I know you knew because I _told you. _I told you I wasn't ready and you kept pursuing me anyway, because you were convinced that we could work out.'

Shane hung his head, he knew that was true, hadn't he just been thinking the same thing? But could she really blame him for wanting to be with her? She was amazing, and beautiful, and he was just a guy who wanted to be with her.

'I know,' Shane offered, 'and I'm sorry, I just thought that maybe if we were together long enough, you'd want me as much as I wanted you.'

Mercedes shook her head, but she didn't seem as angry anymore, just tired and disappointed.

'I know Shane, I _wanted_ to want you, but I'd just lost someone that I loved, and I'm pretty sure now that I was trying to use _our_ relationship to forget the pain of the last one.'

Mercedes reached out and covered his hand with her own.

'I'm sorry for that.'

Shane nodded, although the words were hard to hear.

'Don't be sorry, baby… just be happy. I thought I could do that for you but…' he shrugged. 'Guess not.'

Mercedes frowned before leaning over and hugging him.

'You are a good guy, Shane, I mean it, and one day you'll find a girl who is perfect for you… but… can I give you some advice?'

Shane nodded, bracing himself for the undoubtedly hard truths that were coming. Mercedes Jones did not mince words after all.

'Don't try to make her something she isn't, Shane. I know you mean well, but sometimes, you just gotta let people be who they are.'

Shane sighed, he knew she was talking about the time he'd discouraged her from being friendly with the competition before her West Side Story audition. He'd been proud that she'd stood up for herself, but it hadn't taken him long to realize that Mercedes was not the kind to treat her friends that way, no matter how much he might disagree with it. She'd dragged him to watch the show even though he himself would have kept a wide berth if he'd been in her place. Shane had struggled to understand how Mercedes could continue to support a group of people who had treated her so badly over the years, but that's just who she was. He'd tried to develop a similar outlook for her sake, but when the Sectionals competition had rolled around, Shane had found an excuse not to go. He hadn't wanted to pretend to support the New Directions, but he knew that it would have upset Mercy if he didn't. He'd finally decided that the safest course of action would be to stay away.

'Yeah.' Shane agreed, reaching over to pat her knee. 'I think I've learned my lesson as far as that's concerned.'

Mercedes smiled reassuringly at him before leaning in to give him a final hug.

'Goodbye, Shane.'

He smiled a sad smile as Mercedes got up to leave and watched her as she made her way to the end of the row, however he stopped her just before she could make her way down the bleachers,

'Mercedes?'

She turned, poised at the top of the steps, and looked at him expectantly.

'The guy you were in love with before I came along… It was Evans wasn't it?'

Mercedes froze, but Shane could read his answer on her face as plain as if she were yelling it at him.

'And judging by the look on your face right now, I'm guessing it still is.'

'You're not going to hurt him are you?' Mercedes asked quietly, knowing that there was no point in denying what everyone apparently already knew.

Shane shook his head, his eyes fixed on the helmet dangling from his hands as he spoke,

'No.' he sighed, 'I want to, but no. Truth is he had your heart first.' Shane shrugged again. 'I was just marking time.'

Mercedes couldn't think of anything to say to that, it was the truth after all, so she smiled sadly at Shane and made her way down the bleachers and off the field.

***MSMSMSMSM***

It had been just over a week since his duet with Mercedes and Sam was beginning to feel a little nervous. He'd seen her in glee, of course, but while she'd be polite she hadn't mentioned anything about the duet or their relationship.

'Do you think I'm being an idiot?' Sam asked Kurt and Quinn as they sat waiting for glee club to start.

'Yes.' Santana cut in, dropping into the seat next to Sam's.

'What are we talking about?'

'_We _weren't talking about anything, Santana.' Kurt admonished while Sam said 'Cedes' at the same time.

'Oh God, He-man!' Santana threw her hands up in exasperation. 'Even Potato Face over there can tell that Mercedes is going to choose you and he doesn't even speak English! Just suck it up, grow some balls and wait it out.'

Santana rolled her eyes and turned her attention to filing her nails.

'She's right!' Rory called from a few seats over, his Irish brogue cutting over the rest of the chatter, 'I can see it a mile off! … Does she really not know I'm speaking English?'

Sam scrubbed his hands over his face, jiggling his knee furiously until Quinn put out a hand to make him stop.

'Be patient, Sam.'

Sam opened his mouth to reply but closed it again when Mercedes walked into the choir room deep in conversation with Mr. Schuester. He tried to catch her eye but Mercedes avoided it, instead standing quietly next to Mr. Schue as he addressed the rest of the choir.

'Guys, Mercedes has told me that she's prepared something that she wants to share with you all. Mercedes?' Mr. Schue touched her lightly on the arm as he left her the floor. Mercedes let out a deep breath and looked up at the glee club.

'Let's do this.'

Sam leaned over to Quinn and whispered out the corner of his mouth.

'What is going on?'

Quinn just shot him a beatific smile in response.

'I'm sure you'll figure it out.'

Sam watched as the band filed into the room clutching their instruments as Mercedes began to speak again.

'I'm not ready to yell it in the hallways yet, but I figure that you guys are practically family, and if I'm ready to yell it anywhere it's here, so, uh… let's go.'

Sam was astounded when wordlessly all the boys in glee club, save himself, stood up to join Mercedes on the floor, lining up with their backs to the audience with Mercedes in the middle.

Sam could feel the butterflies fluttering in his stomach, he might be a little slow on the uptake, but he had no trouble figuring out that he was the focus of Mercedes' performance, but whether she'd be saying '_take me I'm yours'_ or '_back the hell off'_ remained to be seen. At least he had a good view from here, he thought, taking the time to admire Mercedes butt as the music started and they all snapped their fingers in unison. One by one they all turned to face the audience as Mercedes started to sing,

_Honey, honey, I can see the stars all the way from here…_

Sam was impressed, all the boys were perfectly in sync with each other, even Finn, and Sam felt a rush of pride in the fact that Mercedes could stay perfectly in time with them even though she was out front and couldn't see what they were doing. Clearly they'd put a lot of work into this performance. _Maybe even about a week's worth of work? _Sam thought as he continued to watch.

_They say that love hurts_

_But I know_

_It's gonna take the real work._

_Nothing's perfect but it's worth it_

_After fighting through my tears_

_Finally you put me first!_

Sam could hear the girls laughing at the boys dancing around him, but his eyes were glued to Mercedes. Was she saying what he _thought _she was saying?

_Baby it's you._

Mercedes sang, pointing directly at him.

_You're the one I love_

_You're the one I need_

_You're the only one I see._

_Come on baby it's you_

_You're the one that gives your all_

_The one I can always call_

_When I need you, baby, everything stops_

_Finally you put my love on top!_

Sam's face split into a grin so wide it hurt his cheeks. She'd picked _him! _He could barely believe that after all this time, all the work he'd put into winning her back, she was finally saying _yes_.

Sam watched as Mercedes danced around the floor in time with the music and the rest of the boys, appreciating the way her body moved as she danced. He already knew she was fun to look at, he'd been admiring her from a distance for quite some time now after all, but watching her perform and knowing that he'd be able to put his arms around her when she was done was something else. As usual her vocals were on point, but watching her he couldn't understand how Mr. Schue had ever let her be pushed into the background, his girl was amazing.

Sam didn't think it was possible but his smile got wider, _his girl._

Sam found himself laughing and clapping along as the song drew to a close.

Mercedes' brown eyes met a pair of emerald green ones as she sang the last note and as the boys all filed past her, exhausted, she found that she was grinning from ear to ear.

'Mr. Schue?'

Sam raised his hand without breaking eye contact with Mercedes.

'We're going to need to be excused for a minute.'

Mercedes was too flushed from the performance and the adrenalin rush to register if Mr. Schue said anything, but before she knew it Sam was taking her hand and pulling her into the empty hallway.

'Where are we going?' Mercedes asked, her breathing shallow for reasons other than the performance.

Sam stopped and gently pressed Mercedes against a bank of lockers a little way down the hall from the choir room.

'Did that song mean what I think it meant?' he asked, his voice coming out breathy and hoarse as he looked down at Mercedes flushed, gorgeous face. She smiled that little smile that was reserved purely for him and nodded. Sam grinned back, but Mercedes hand was already tangled in the hair at the back of his neck as she pulled him down so his mouth met hers.

Sam felt Mercedes shudder against him as he stroked a hand down her side, reveling in the feel of her pressed against almost every part of him. He felt his stomach muscles contract as Mercedes hands found their way under his shirt as he deepened the kiss, gently licking her plump lower lip and sliding his tongue into her mouth when she groaned in response.

Mercedes felt like her whole body was ablaze with Sam as his hands moved over her, and his mouth pressed hot and hard against hers. When they broke apart for air it felt far too soon.

'Whoa.' Mercedes breathed, accepting Sam's steadying hand when her legs threatened to give out from under her.

'…Whoa.' She repeated again, biting her bruised lower lip and releasing it slowly.

'Ye-ha.' Sam exhaled, trying really hard not to watch what she was doing with her lip as he peeled himself off her and leaned against the lockers by her side.

Sam lifted a hand to try and smooth down Mercedes' hair, it didn't look bad, but he'd managed to muss it up a lot during the course of that kiss, and it would _definitely_ leave no question as to what they'd been doing out here. _Not that the rest of the glee club didn't already know_, he reasoned. Sam watched as Mercedes bit her lip and had to resist the urge to kiss her again. They'd have to head back to glee soon, and he was pretty sure that if he kissed her again he wouldn't be able to stop, he'd just missed her so damn much.

'I missed those kisses, darlin'' he told her, his smile crinkling the corners of his eyes.

'Yeah,' Mercedes smiled at him and reached up to wipe what remained of her lip-gloss off his mouth.

'Me too.'

They smiled shyly at each other as they clasped hands and walked happily back to the choir room to face the interrogation of the glee club. _Together._

* * *

><p>Songs used were <em>Rush <em>by Ferras & Katy Perry and _Love on Top_ by Beyonce. Credit to the respective owners/authors.


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